Crossing Paths #3 - Chance Encounters
by Selina
Summary: Not everything is what it appears to be.


**__**

Hey, here I am again! Nah, I'm just joking, I'm not really here... *hits herself on the head for the stupid start*. Getting to the point *looks at script and whispers to the people hiding off-stage* Are you sure there was supposed to be a point in here somewhere, no one told me about it... No one ever tells me anything... er... I'm going to remind you once again that this is based on the TV show, but don't hate me cause of it, try to keep an open mind. I'd like to thank Gwen for having listened to all my babble and giving me a some suggestions. And Ruby for all the help; I'd be dead in the water without you. Thanks... That's about it, my guinea pigs are on vacation... *walks off demanding to know who wrote the stupid speech* 

Crossing Paths #3

Chance Encounters

***

Alyssa

I was sitting alone on one of the boxes in the shack. My mind was drifting while I waited for Tobias to come back, he'd gone to get Ax and tell him we were going to meet up at Cassie's. Just another day, just another meeting with these people I now called friends. Strange huh? How your life just gets twisted around again and again. This shack and these woods were the closest thing I now had to a home, I had first seen them as a sign of hope, a small possibility of escape, maybe even freedom... I had never expected to find shelter and new friends (as if I ever truly had any). I never needed friends, I had my sister and in a world where anyone can be your enemy, you learn to count on the few people you know you can trust. That's part of what my life was like, I'd use to go to school, come back home and occasionally leave to go nearby. I'd usually hang out with Sarah and a few of our 'friends', we tried to stay away from Controllers, when we realized someone who was hanging out with us was one, we'd make up some reason and pretend to be mad at the person. Sarah always seemed to handle it well enough. She wasn't much older than me, a little over three years, but it made a difference. It wasn't just that, it was who she was, it was the way she always insisted to be allowed to do something, even when our father prohibited it, it was the way she made fun of everyone's disabilities, even mine sometimes, and be able to fix her own. I'd always get mad at her, but she was my sister and I loved her... I never wanted her dead... I felt my eyes slowly start to fill with tears.

And then everything changed, my whole life shattered as if it were made of glass. In a few minutes, all the people I loved were gone and everything I had left were memories I couldn't even dare to look at, afraid that I wouldn't be the only one seeing them. I stayed that way, carefully yet desperately hiding away everything I could about my past, not bothering to try and remember dates and names. I can't remember what time I'd go to school, or what day of the week was the last day my family had been alive. I let myself forget as much as I could, but some things never go away... I lived in a deep state of enclosure for about a month, not even remembering what it was like to smile without the Yeerk making me anymore... I was moved away from my home town so no one recognized me, I lived in sole service of the Yeerks, having no life of my own, no one for them to have to fool, no one to miss me... Then everything went crazy again, I no longer needed to hide what was inside, but somehow I ended up doing just that. 'Hide it! Don't let them see what you feel! You cannot show your weakness!'. Those words still hammered in my head like the day I first heard them, where had I heard them? I don't remember... Sounds like something Sarah would say when she got mad. She was always there for me, the strong one, the protector. I guess that makes me the weak, the coward. I shivered as Rachel's words came back into my head... I felt tears start to form once again in my eyes. I dried them away and whispered to myself, 'I am not a coward...', but something urged me to ask 'Am I?'

When my mind was going to analyze an utterly useless attempt at an answer, it was interrupted by Tobias flying in, he landed on one of the boxes, being followed close behind by Ax. I wiped my face one more time, trying to make sure that any reminders of tears were gone. I suddenly stopped myself cold, there I was, doing it again! Hell, if I wanted to cry, better if it's in front of those who I trust... That was what was missing in those words, where they were wrong... It's true, you shouldn't show yourself weak, you shouldn't be allowed to show fear... not in the face of peril, not in front of the enemy... But you have to show your true self to someone, otherwise you'll end up forgetting who you are...

Alyssa, are you ok? - Tobias asked me in private thought speak.

I nodded - "So, shall we go?" - I started morphing, not waiting for an answer.

We flew into Cassie's barn and saw that the others were already there. We demorphed and Ax morphed human. I leaned up against a wall in the corner and listened to them.

"Ax, did Tobias fill you in on what we did?" - Jake asked him.

"Yes ss, Prince Jake." 

"Don't call me Prince." - Jake said with a sigh.

"Yes Prince Jake." - was Ax's quick response.

Jake smiled and gave up.

"What did you find Jake?" - Cassie asked.

"Well, when I got to the changing booths, they were all empty, no sign of our 'friend'. I thought there would be a secret passage in one of the changing booths, but then I noticed there was a back room. I tried the door, but it was locked..." - Jake paused for a second.

Marco took the chance - "Then you... morphed something really small, crawled under the door and found a secret entrance to the Yeerk pool by triggering some mechanism on the wall."

Jake just looked at him - "You could have at least let me tell them, since I was the one who was actually there!"

Marco laughed - "You were taking too long."

"Now what do we do?" - Cassie asked, trying to get everyone's attention.

We could see this as an opportunity to identify more Controllers. - Tobias suggested.

"Let's do it!" - Rachel said enthusiastically just to annoy Marco, who tossed her exactly that kind of a look, annoyed.

"Doesn't anybody else think we've had our share of close calls for the week?" - Marco asked.

"We can handle it." - Rachel said.

"Gee, why don't we just camp outside the entrance and see who goes in and who comes out." - Marco said laughing.

"That's a good idea." - I said seriously. 

They turned to look at me as if they had just then remembered I was there.

"Hum, I was kidding. It'd be crazy to just spend a whole day in front of a store watching who goes in and who comes out." - Marco replied.

"Duh! I didn't say we should do that." - I tossed back.

"What are you saying?" - Jake asked me.

"Well, I was thinking, we never did go check out the entrance I used to get down to the Yeerk pool." - I explained.

It's at a post office right? - Tobias asked.

"Yeah, or at least it was, I don't know if they kept it there after I got away." - I said.

Cassie seemed to be convincing herself - "Well, I guess we could go take a look at it." 

"It's just a small entrance, not many Controllers use it, since it's kindda far off. There's a door in the mail room that's marked 'Authorized Personnel Only'. The entrance is through there, there's a fake mail slot and then the wall slides."

"Sounds easy enough. All we have to do is see if it's still there." - Rachel said. 

"We could go in posing as human Controllers, some would be the Yeerks, others would be the hosts..." - I suggested.

We're even in numbers, one of us will be required to stay outside as a look out. - Ax pointed out.

"I can do that... I have no special desire to get shot at." - Marco volunteered. 

I looked at the others, it was perfectly clear who would go as humans, and who would go as Yeerks. Only three of us weren't exactly listed in the phone book, so to speak...

"I'll go morphed as human. They won't recognize me." - I volunteered with half a smile.

"Fine. I'll be the Yeerk in your brain, if you're ok with that." - Jake said. 

I nodded, why shouldn't I be okay with it?

He went on - "Ax, I think you and Tobias should be the other two humans, that leaves Rachel and Cassie to crawl into your brains."

"Pick your partners ladies, the dance will be starting in just a few moments." - Marco laughed. 

Both Rachel and Cassie rolled their eyes and laughed. 

Jake called our attention - "I do think Marco is right about one thing..."

"First time for everything." - Rachel said, tossing her hair back with a smile.

Jake went on as if he hadn't been interrupted - "We should wait a while before getting to close to any potentially dangerous situation..." - we all took in his words, but I thought I heard him add under his breath - "...especially after what happened the last time."

We all nodded quietly, there wasn't much to argue about. Rachel looked like she was about to protest, but Jake gave her a long stare and she just went along with the idea. I did notice one thing though, when he said the last part, his gaze settled on me for a moment. I don't know what he was thinking... I really didn't know him well enough to try and guess, I could only know what I was thinking. And I was worried that I would let them down. I know I'd do my best not to disappoint them, any of them; Tobias, Cassie, Jake, Marco, Ax, Rachel... I'd kill for them and I'd be ready to die for them...

I noticed everyone was leaving, it had been a pretty busy day. I asked Tobias to wait outside for a moment, I had something I wanted to say to Jake. It wasn't important, and I don't know where it came from, but I felt like saying it.

"Jake, can I talk to you for a moment?" - I said just as he was leaving.

He nodded and walked over to where I had been standing ever since the meeting began.

He waited till we were alone and asked - "What is it?" 

"Why did you volunteer to come with me?"

"No special reason..."

"Jake, you can't feel responsible for me anymore than you feel responsible for your friends. Maybe you think you can help me out if things go wrong, but believe me... sometimes there's nothing you can do. Some things just happen and as much as we want to, we can't stop it... And if you feel responsible for the others, it will end up hurting you most of all..." - I paused for a moment, trying to arrange my thoughts.

He gave me a strange look - "Wait a minute. Where did that come from?"

Frankly, I didn't know it myself. I shrugged - "Sorry, my thoughts are messed up today, or always, you choose..." - I laughed a bit - "I think what I wanted to say was that I don't want you worrying about me too much... and that if you ever need a friend to talk to, you can count me in on that list..."

He looked at me and smiled - "I know, same here."

He said good bye and left. I watched him go, then began to morph. When I was fully morphed into a red-tailed hawk, I flew out of the barn and joined the other red-tailed that was hovering above. We started to head deeper into the woods, going to the shack. 

I heard his voice; gentle, almost worried - Is everything ok? You've been sortta quiet ever since we saw that Controller at the mall. 

I'm fine. I just wished I could forget about all this for at least one day.

Yeah, I know what you mean... 

I'm sorry, I guess I'm kindda selfish at times, I forget I wasn't the only one who lost everything... 

You still haven't asked me why I don't just become a nothlit again. 

Sorry... I guess I just assumed... it was for the same reason Sarah didn't want... hum, why didn't you? 

So I would still be able to fight... I mean, it does make sense, I can't just give it all up, leave it all behind... not right now anyway, not until this is all over, not while I can still help... 

I didn't say anything more. The best thing for me to do was to just shut up... I wasn't the best person to have this conversation with him, not the way I thought. I always thought that if my father hadn't become a nothlit, that maybe none of this would have happened. So, I was definitely not the best person to talk to Tobias about whether or not he should remain a nothlit. As much as I thought he should hang on to his humanity, I thought he should remain a hawk. My thoughts came to a halt when I realized we had come to the shack already. We went in, I demorphed and he morphed. He looked like he was deep in thought, his expression was serious. 

"What is it?" - I asked, my voice as serious as he was.

"Nothing, I was just thinking..." 

He sat down on one of the boxes and I sat next to him. He didn't look like he was willing to discuss his thoughts any further, but I still tried to get him to open up.

"About what?"

"Nothing in particular..." - he tried to smile, but it didn't feel real enough - "...can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't feel like it..."

"I'll answer... what's the question?"

"How did your father get trapped in morph?"

I looked at him, his eyes were so sad and yet so... I can't describe it, it just gave me a weird feeling inside. Or maybe that was just because I cared for him. Funny how I grew closer to him than I had ever been to anyone outside my family. I focused on what he had asked me. I remembered the story Sarah had told me, I was too young to remember anything besides loose images and phrases. But she had been there, she was young herself, a little over six or seven years old.

"When I was still a little kid, we had a car accident. I don't remember much of it, just flashes and pieces... but Sarah told me what happened... dad never talked about it much, it upset him... Hum, we were driving home when a truck drove us off the road. Anyway, the car sortta turned over. My mother's side of the car got smashed up pretty badly. She was unconscious, but she was still alive. Dad was barely conscious, but he was able to morph and so the injuries he had, vanished. Sarah and I were in the back seat. I was on the less smashed corner, so I was alright. Sarah's leg was broken and a piece of wreckage had gone into her arm..." - I paused as the memory of my sister crying, her face red with blood came to mind - "But she morphed and like my father, everything was fine... Sarah said that father literally split the car open to get mom out of there..." - I paused for a while, trying to describe with words what I had seen so many times in my dreams. The images I had made from the words I had heard. 

Tobias just waited for me to continue, his eyes had a steady gaze as he listened to my voice. 

"We were taken to the hospital with only slight injuries, except for mom... she was in a coma. Funny, I can't remember the reason... it never seemed to matter, the only thing that mattered was that we feared she would never wake up again. Father stayed at her side, refusing to leave, even when Sarah insisted he shouldn't spend more than two hours. She begged him not to get trapped... but he didn't listen to her, he spent ten hours at my mother's bed side, all that time I spent crying in the corner as Sarah tried to comfort me. That's when Sarah started doing things her own way, when she stopped listening to him... sorry, I'm drifting... back to the hospital... I don't remember when it happened, but I do remember my mother waking up and the smile on my father's face when she did."

I took a deep breath, that was one memory that I would carry with me forever, the pure joy in my father's voice when I heard him say to mom: 'Welcome back Kirsten'. I wish I could see their faces again, hear their voices... I missed them so much... I looked at Tobias, he still had that sad expression on his face. His eyes were on me, but he knew I was finished speaking. My voice hadn't been sad, I had come to terms with that accident and my father's choice long ago. I saw Tobias start to say something, than stop suddenly. 

I moved a little closer to him and whispered - "What is it?"

"I was just wondering what it would be like to have a normal life..."

"This isn't normal enough for you?" - I smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It didn't really work. 

He tried to forge a smile, but it vanished quickly - "I'm serious... do you think we'll ever be able to have almost normal lives again?" 

"Maybe someday... maybe someday we all will..."

I held his hand and squeezed it tight. Maybe someday we would all get our lives back, when this was all over, when the Yeerks were gone... But then again, maybe I was hoping for too much again. Dreaming too high... not wanting to accept the cold hard reality... I smiled as a phrase came to mind: 'That's what dreams are for... to make sure you don't give in to reality when it becomes a nightmare'.

***

Jake

As I was walking home, I kept playing back the small conversation I had with Alyssa. What was she saying? It all seemed a bit weird... She seemed to worry about me for some reason, as if I were the one who needed to be taken care off or... I don't know. I really don't think I got what she was telling me. But I'm sure I understood a part of it. And somewhere in there she was saying that no matter what, my friends would be there for me... and she would be one of them. I walked into the house and went straight for the fridge... That's when I heard Tom's voice, he was talking to someone, over the phone apparently. I tried to listen to what he was saying, but I only got pieces of it.

"... yes, I know... if the situation... we have to take action... no, we don't have an exact count yet... haven't been any reports... indicate that... not yet..." 

I noticed the television was on, there was some report about another murder in some town. At that moment, Tom hung up and saw me. He smiled a hello and turned up the sound on the TV. I smiled back, even knowing this wasn't my brother... not really. This was the enemy, the thing I wanted so hard to defeat and yet couldn't. My brother was there too, but he wasn't the one talking to me, he wasn't the one smiling. He was the one I couldn't see, the one that was being forced to do things he didn't want to, the one who was probably asking for help and not being heard... I pushed the thought away and concentrated on the news on TV. They were showing the photograph of a woman in her early thirties, while the announcer's voice said:

__

"...the latest victim in a series of murders that have taken place in the town of ________. While the police still have no clue as to the killer's identity, they do believe that these murders are linked to the ones that took place in ________ not more than a week earlier." - five more pictures popped up on the screen, two young girls, a man apparently in his forties, and a boy that couldn't have been more than twelve. The last picture disappeared before I could get a good look at it. The news woman continued - _"In each case, death was instantaneous, due to a shot fired at close range to victim's temple. Although police forensics reports confirm that the murder weapon in each of these cases was indeed the same one, there are slight variations to each particular case, causing further debate as to whether or not this is indeed the work of a serial killer. Four of the victims were murdered in a different location, having there bodies moved to the scene where they were later found. All the others were lured into alleys or nearby woods and shot at cold blood. There have been found no connections between the victims so far, much less has there been a pattern determined. No clues were found at the scene of this latest murder. There was an eye witness to one of the murders, she gave the police a detailed description of the man who committed at least one of these crimes. He is said to be about 6 feet tall, Caucasian, blond hair and dark colored eyes... If you see him, be sure to contact the police immediately."-_ A hand-drawn picture appeared on the screen. A young man, in his early 20's...

At that moment I stopped listening and turned to look at Tom and what I saw, I didn't understand. I saw anger surfacing on his face. I couldn't understand what the Yeerk was thinking about, why it would have dropped its cover... He noticed I was staring at him and got up, pointing at the television screen.

"These lunatics have no respect for life." - he walked away and I heard his bedroom door close. 

I almost laughed in his face. No respect for life? Where did that come from? I felt like saying something like: 'Maybe you should unwrap yourself from around my brother's brain before discussing respect for life', but instead, I just whispered to myself: 'What's the matter Yeerk? Less hosts to infest?'. I turned off the television, not listening to the rest of the newscast and went to my room. I closed the door and just sat there, not doing anything, just thinking.

I knew we should go and check out that entrance Alyssa used to go down to the Yeerk pool. But I didn't think we should go right away, I still needed to be sure that things were ok between Rachel and Alyssa. They didn't have to be best friends or anything like that, they just had to work together as a team, trust each other, not that that would happen any time soon. But you cannot have two people who don't trust each other go into a situation where they would be needed to do just that. That's why I thought we should wait at least a few days before going, and in that time, try and get them to spend more time together... If one of them didn't end up in the hospital, they could get to know each other better and there was always the remote possibility that they could eventually get to like each other... ok, maybe I'm exaggerating... they could at least put up with each others company. 

I knew Alyssa didn't have a problem with anyone else, sure, she and Ax didn't really get along, but they were beginning to talk to each other, especially because both them and Tobias spent a lot of time in the woods with, let's face it, practically nothing to do. And well, she seemed to like Tobias; actually, she seemed to _really_ like him and that was one of the reasons I think she and Rachel didn't get along. Especially since Tobias seemed to like her too. And Marco, she seems to get along just fine with him too. They joke around a bit and aside from a few incidents, there's nothing to be concerned about. As for Cassie, I don't think I've ever actually seen Cassie be mean to someone, so she and Alyssa were able to get along just great. That leaves me... she seems to be concerned with me, it's weird, but... What do I think of her. Well, I think she's more than she thinks she is... Rachel sees it as deception, I see it as... I don't know what I see it as. I just know that up to a point Rachel is right, Alyssa's not what we see her as. But I do trust her, I think she's able to handle much more than we give her credit for. She's been through a lot, I guess in some way, I feel sorry for her and that makes me worry about her. I wouldn't like to think that she came all this way to just end up dead or a Controller again.

That's one of the reasons I volunteered to go with her on this next mission, to try and avoid that, if I can. The other reason is because it seemed the logical choice. I mean, there was no way I was pairing her up with Rachel, that would be like tempting fate, and Cassie... I wouldn't feel right doing that to her. I know that Alyssa is probably the one who is most likely to have something go wrong with; she could panic (although I don't think that's likely), she could freeze, she could run out of time and have to demorph and not be able to morph again... but most of those are risks we all take. I just didn't want to place Cassie in any more danger than necessary, not that I don't think she could handle it, I just didn't want her to have to. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to her. I just wouldn't be able to take it. I wish things were different... I wish I could just walk up to her and tell her how I feel. But whenever our eyes meet, it feels as if there's nothing more to say, as if everything was out in the open... 

***

Christopher

I woke up dazed. My head hurt more than anything. I must have been hit pretty hard. What happened? Where am I? What's the last thing I remember? I remember leaving home to go to The Sharing, the Yeerk's three days were almost up. It needed Kandrona rays. 

I left home, a small apartment I rented by myself and had walked about a block when I heard the sounds of someone crying. The Yeerk was curious, so we followed the sound to the entrance of an alley. A little girl was sitting on the floor crying. Her blonde hair fell over her face, which she concealed in her hands. I knelt down on the floor next to her. The Yeerk smiled and asked her what was wrong in a gentle way. She looked up at us and said she saw a monster hiding in the alley. 

"I followed the dog..." - she said, starting to cry again - "...but it wasn't a dog... it started to grow and turn blue..."

The Yeerk's thoughts sped up, thinking he might have found an Andalite. He started walking inside the alley to take a look, see if it was still there. As soon as his back was turned, we heard a slight noise behind us, we barely turned around and I felt a strong blow to the back of my head, then everything started to swirl, and I think I must have blacked out... 

Next thing I remember is waking up here. And this is definitely not a dream, the pain is very real.

I opened my eyes and... wait! I opened my eyes, not the damn Yeerk, me, Christopher... I opened my eyes! I looked around the small poorly lit room and made out a figure sitting on the floor. I analyzed the situation as best I could in the state of mind I was in. I was tied up in a room that looked like it hadn't been used in years, maybe an abandoned building or a half-way through construction. I was on the floor, my hands and legs were tied. And across the room, a figure was sitting in front of me, wearing a black cape, or a cloak or something. I don't think I had ever seen anyone wearing a cape before. I couldn't see the person's face, couldn't even be sure he was awake, the hood covered all of it. Then there was a slight movement under the cloth and I heard a voice, a female voice. 

"The Yeerk is dead... I will give you a choice, I can kill you now or set you free. Choose." - she said calmly.

"What?" - I let out confused.

"You have two hours to think it over, you may ask whatever you wish." 

"But you won't answer whatever I ask..." - I said, finally beginning to catch on.

She was silent, I knew I was right, but what did I have to loose? 

"Who are you?" - was the first question I could think of.

"There is no answer for that..."

Great, she was trying to use cheap philosophy to dodge the question - "I'll settle for a name..."

"Call me whatever you wish. I'm just someone who died." 

"But is still alive, or came back to life... kindda like that bird.. right? What was it again... Phoenix, that's it." 

I still got no reaction from her. Talk about having a conversation with a wall...

"What happened to the little girl? Is she ok?" - I asked

"Mere decoy."

Everything started falling into place. There had been no alien or monster in that alley, it had all been a deceit. And the Yeerk had fallen for it. Hell, I had fallen for it. I wanted to just get up and jump up and down with joy... But, being tied up and all, the best I could do was laugh out loud. 

"What is your choice?" - she asked, hurrying me. 

"Hey, you said two hours. Stick by your word, Phoenix... What are the choices?" 

"Life or death. Do you wish to live and be hunted down forever risking reinfestation or die and end it all?" 

"I want to live!" - I said with conviction.

She didn't say anything, she merely got up and started to walk towards the door, stopping halfway there. She kneeled down and somehow lit a candle that had been placed on the floor.

"Burn the ropes and get away." - she instructed.

She opened the door and slammed it shut before I could say anything. The breeze the closing door made caused the candle to blow itself out. I would have screamed for Phoenix, and for the lack of a real name that is what I called her, but if I screamed, someone besides her could have heard me. I looked around once more, trying not to miss the slightest detail of the room. There was a small window high up, near the ceiling, that was where the light was coming from. 

The window was half broken so it was clear this was an old building... the broken window... glass! I would have tried to pat myself on the back if my hands weren't already tied there. I rolled through the floor across the room until I was directly underneath the shattered window. I saw what I hoped would be there, small pieces of sharp edged glass. I clumsily sat up with my back to the fragments. I felt the floor for one and picked it up, trying my best to avoid cutting myself. But that didn't matter much, the ropes were coming off, one way or another... I searched for the sharpest piece and held it firmly in my hands. I started to rub it against the ropes. I think I did that for about an hour before I successfully cut the blasted thing. My hands had glass fragments and cuts all over it, but like I said, the rope had come off. I untied my feet and got up. It was strange at first, getting up and walking, as it always is when the Yeerk comes out. But at least it was out, and that was all that mattered. I opened the door carefully and walked out trying not to make the slightest sound. I closed the door behind me, the rope and candle remains were in my pockets; no traces should be found. When I closed the door and turned around, I almost fell back. I was staring straight at the hooded figure. She was there, waiting for me.

"Forty five minutes." - she stated.

"What?" - this was way confusing for me. Was she gonna let me go or not?

"Come." 

And with that, she led me back into the room and started to tell me what she wanted in return for my freedom. 

"Information you have on the Yeerks, and some people." 

"And for that you'll spare my life?" 

"I'll help you as much as I can." 

"Without risking or exposing yourself, right?" 

She was silent. By now, I was beginning to take that as a yes. I didn't have much to think about, what would I rather do; live or die? I had the answer, I wanted to live... period. Nothing more than that, I wanted to be alive, Yeerk or no Yeerk, I wanted to live. That's why I went along with it, why I said yes. I took Phoenix's deal. I told her all I knew about the Yeerks' plans. She asked me about some people, ten or twelve names. Half I had never heard off, two I knew were dead, one had been transferred to another city and three had gone missing, presumed dead. I got nothing from her, no reaction of surprise, no acknowledgment, nothing. 

When I finished, she handed me a small piece of paper with an address on it, I saw her hands, she was wearing gloves. Of course, no finger prints. She told me I should stay close to that address she gave me. She never showed me her face and she never did tell me her name. But I could live with that, I didn't have to know, I just wish I did. I wished I could look into her eyes, whatever color they were and thank her for giving me a chance to live my life with nothing in my brain controlling me. 

Before my world could stop spinning, she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving my life as quickly as she had entered it. I looked at the address, it was in this city all right, if I was still in the same city that is... But no where near the places I used to go to, or the Yeerk used to, depending on which year you consider. 

I let my thoughts wander for about ten minutes, then I stuffed the paper in my jacket's inner pocket, checked the room again for anything that didn't belong there and carefully left the building. Only then I learned where I was, I was on the exact same street she had written down for me. All I had to do was find the number of the place I was supposed to go to. Problem was, I was wandering around blindly, I barely knew where I was going, much less what I was supposed to do when I got there. But hey, the girl had managed so far, what reasons did I have not to think she would pull through on her promise to help as much as she could? 

I got to the address, it was an unfinished brick house. There was nothing there. For a second, I thought about giving up; just one second. If Phoenix sent me here, she must have had a reason. I looked around to see if anyone was watching and tried the door; locked. There had to be another way in. I checked every inch of the wall to make sure the bricks were all in place. It took a while, but it was worth it; I found a hole dug under the wall, hidden with some plants and dead grass. The bricks on that part of the wall were loose. I carefully pushed them aside and crawled in. Then I arranged everything the way I had found it. It was dark, my eyes slowly started adjusting to the small light coming in from the cracks. As soon as I could see just enough not to bump into something, I started walking around. It was small, but it had a few rooms. I walked into one of them and found some cloths laid out on the ground, as if someone had slept there. Someone touched my arm. I gasped, whirling around to see who it was. There was a girl standing right in front of me; black hair, dark eyes; laughing as if she were mad. Although the most probable explanation would have been that she was drunk, especially if you took into consideration the smell I was noticing... There were two guys in the back, sitting on the floor, I saw one of them hide something when he saw I was staring. 'Great' I thought sarcastically, 'now I ended up in the midst of drunk and drugged'. 

"Who are you hiding from?" - the girl asked, smiling.

I couldn't answer, my mouth opened, but no sound came out. I didn't know exactly what to say.

"Is there anybody in there?" - she sang, giggling. The two boys eyed me for a moment.

"She does that, sing, I mean. You get used to it..." - the dark-skinned boy said.

"What do you want here?" - the other one asked suspiciously.

"I'm looking for a place to stay... I uh... lost my house and everything." - I lied.

"That's tough... you want?" - the blonde guy asked, showing me a small bottle. I quickly shook my head.

"I asked his name, he never said a word, as if, he hadn't heard..." - the girl sang again. A different song this time.

She staggered in my direction, almost falling over me. I sat her down slowly, she was laughing. The two boys weren't paying attention anymore. I sat down next to the girl and tried to get something out of her.

"So, where do you live?" - I asked.

"Where I live..." - she laughed and pointed at the laid out cloths.

"Hum, how long have you been here, uh... what's your name?" - I asked her, but she didn't answer. I looked over and saw she had passed out. 

One of the boys was laughing - "Hey, you'll get used to that too. I'm assuming we'll be seeing a lot of you around here."

I nodded automatically. He got up and sat down across from where I was. 

"Her name's Gina... Says she ran away from home couple of months ago. Said her brother was acting strange... Yeah, like that's a reason to leave home..."

"Depends on your definition of strange..." - I mumbled.

"We just sortta come 'round here once in a while and hang... She can be a lot of fun when she's awake, y' know..."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to wipe out the thoughts that had involuntarily entered my mind. 

He seemed to notice my expression - "Hey, what are you going to do here anyway?"

I froze, I hadn't thought about anything. I knew I should come here, I knew I should stay, I knew I should... - "Wait... I'm gonna wait..."

"For what?" - he asked curiously

I ran my fingers through my hair and shrugged, laughing for no reason at all - "You know, I don't even know what I'm waiting for... maybe for a miracle, maybe for the devil, maybe for the Martians to land or hell to freeze over... I just know I'm waiting..."

***

__

Almost ten days later

Tobias

The day came for us to check out the Yeerk pool entrance. We were all convinced that Alyssa was ready for it, she acquired a wolf and a puma, she could have tried a panther, but she said she didn't want to. We weren't expecting any trouble, but you've got to be prepared for anything. She had to acquire me again and we also got her an owl for night flying and a fly, in case we needed something small. She wasn't looking forward to going, none of us were, but she kept insisting she had to. 

Finally, we met up just outside the post office and went in, Alyssa, Ax and I in human morphs and Jake, Cassie and Rachel in Yeerk morphs. Rachel was the Yeerk in my head. We walked into the post office and followed Alyssa. Marco came in separately and pretended to be writing addresses and finishing some details on some envelopes. Alyssa went up to a Controller and said the password we had heard others use.

"I'd like to receive my package, but it hasn't arrived yet. Can I go get it?" - she said, imitating precisely a Controller.

The Controller let us in and pointed to a back room. We went there, but it wasn't the place Alyssa recognized. We closed the door and started to look around. We finally managed to get the fake wall to open up revealing the passage to the Yeerk pool.

"Ok, we saw it, we know it's here. Let's get out..." - I whispered. For a moment, I felt like Marco.

We were about to close the entrance when someone else came into the room. We didn't know what to do, he had seen us come in not ten minutes earlier. The man came up to us and seeing our hesitation, eyed us suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?" - he asked - "Aren't you going down?"

Alyssa nodded and stepped through the biofilters. The Controller seemed satisfied that nothing happened. We all just followed her and started to go down to the Yeerk pool. Since we did have Yeerks in our heads, the biofilters were no problem at all. We hid in the corners and tried to see as many faces as possible and commit them to memory. Hey, we were already here, and we'd have to wait a while before leaving, so why not use the time to our advantage? 

I suddenly heard Alyssa's thought-speak - There are about five hosts here I've never seen before, the rest of them I recognize. 

Hey, that's the guidance counselor that went to our school last week. - I heard Jake say.

I knew I shouldn't listen to her. - Rachel said.

This is great, she can just suggest to the students that they enter the Sharing and there you have it, the Yeerks get new hosts - Cassie pointed out.

But who listens to her anyway? - Rachel teased.

More kids than you think... - Jake said seriously, he was interrupted by another thought-speak.

Prince Jake, it would be wise to leave here before continuing this discussion, we have only thirty minutes left in morph

Already? I was beginning to enjoy being wrapped up in your brain, Ax - Cassie said sarcastically.

We started to move towards the exit when a Controller came our way. We tried to walk faster without looking suspicious, but it was too late. He called out for us to stop, and when we did, he came closer

"You three, I've got new instructions. All Yeerks are to avoid walking in the streets alone, especially after dark, and especially if your host body is small and is not a certified means of defense."

I think we all sighed when he addressed us as fellow Yeerks. After his comment, he began to turn and walk away, I was surprised to hear Alyssa call out to him.

"Wait..."

What are you doing? - I asked her, reaching out for her, but stopping when the Controller turned around.

"Is there any reason for us to be concerned for our safety?" 

Her voice was so calm. I didn't know whether it was Alyssa actually speaking, or if Jake was lending a hand, to put it mildly. Although I think he'd hesitate before taking control, he'd only do it in extreme situations. 

Anyway, the Controller approached us again and answered Alyssa's question, or not - "I was not informed of the reasons behind the command."

And with that, he turned and walked away from us. I reached for Alyssa's arm and pulled her along towards the exit. Once we were out, we had fifteen minutes left in morph, so we would have to go somewhere and demorph. We ended up going into this bar and to the restrooms. We signaled Marco to meet us outside and went to the bathrooms to demorph. Trouble is, Rachel was in my head, Cassie was in Ax's, and Jake was in Alyssa's, so there was no way we were going to be able to just walk out of there unnoticed. Ax and I checked the bathroom to make sure that no one was in there, then we locked the door. The girls came out of our ears and we all demorphed and morphed again. As soon as that was finished, we went outside to find Alyssa standing there, waiting for us.

Let's go. - I heard Jake's thought-speak say.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. Having a lizard in your pocket is not exactly my favorite activity." - Alyssa said smiling faintly.

I could tell that going down to the Yeerk pool had upset her, but she was trying to keep a handle on her emotions. I guess you could say I had gotten to know her pretty well, after all, she did spend most of her time with Ax and me. She couldn't go walking around town and when she wasn't in the shack or near the river, she'd go help Cassie out at the barn. I sometimes flew by the shack and stopped outside, unsure if I should go in, sometimes I hear her cry, thinking no one was listening. She did that, she would smile at us, then when she was alone, she would cry... 

Anyway, I spent enough time with her to notice when she was upset, and this was one of those times. She was trying to cover it up, but going down to the Yeerk pool, hearing all those people screaming, crying... it really got to her, but she seemed pretty much ok. 

We got to Cassie's and demorphed. As soon as everyone was 'settled down', Marco made his first comment from his place on the hayloft

"So, the Yeerks are scared of the boogie man."

Why would they be taking those precautions? - I asked.

"Maybe there have been kidnappings... or something like that... I mean, the Controllers wouldn't want to go without Kandrona rays..." - Alyssa suggested from the corner, without paying that much attention to us.

"I don't think so. At least, I don't know about anyone..." - Rachel started to say, but was interrupted by Cassie.

"Wait! Didn't you guys watch the news?" - everyone sortta just stared at her, waiting for a point - "The news... there have been some murders, they think it's a serial killer..."

"Of course! Why didn't I see it?" - Jake shouted almost to himself, speaking for the first time since we had gotten back.

He got up and looked at Cassie, then at the rest of us, his face showing the excitement of someone who has just had the most incredible revelation, and is about to share it with a group of awed spectators. 

"I saw the news. There have been some murders, not here, but in two other towns. Maybe they think he's here and they're just trying to be careful. I think I heard something about the victims being killed with..."

"A bullet through the head." - Rachel said suddenly, catching on - "I saw a piece of that... the victims had no connection, right?" 

"Who would do such a thing? Kill..." - Cassie started, almost horrified at the thought.

Alyssa cut in before she finished - "Someone who believed death was better."

We all just stared at her, as she turned to us, not saying anything else. Cassie looked like she was going to say something.

But Marco jumped in first - "So, did you guys find out anything else? Something less unsettling than a murderer on the loose in our home town?"

"We don't know for sure if it's the same person who's out there killing all those people, it's merely a hypothesis. And we cannot assume that the person, whoever he or she is, has come here." - Ax said, trying to get us to look with a realistic point of view instead of letting our overly suspicious nature get in the way of concentrating on what we knew for a fact. 

Maybe not every crazy idea or theory we had was paranoia; frightening enough, most of them were real. And we ended up having to face them sooner or later... But every problem had its time, and this was not the time for us to worry about some crazed serial killer. Let's face it, an alien invasion was about all we could handle without going crazy, or getting ourselves killed. 

Marco summed it up quite nicely - "Can we please worry about the serial killer after we save the world?"

"What about that school guidance counselor?" - Alyssa asked, trying to change the subject, but not willing to do so.

Marco took it - "Great, that's normal. Just a guidance counselor with a slug in her head trying to get new hosts for her fellow alien invaders..."

No one else seemed as eager to change the subject, but they went along with it.

"I guess we could try to find some discreet way to make her life miserable." - Rachel said as-a-matter-of-factly. 

"Got any ideas on how to do that?" - Cassie asked, trying to focus on the new subject.

Everyone shrugged. No, we didn't have any ideas, not right now, anyway. 

We were all tired, physically and psychologically. It had been a long day and it was late. We all went our separate ways, I flew with Alyssa to the shack and arranged to meet up with Ax the next morning. When we got to the shack, I morphed human. Alyssa was pretty quiet, she just sat on the floor and stared at me for a while

"What are you thinking?" - I asked gently.

She shook her head and looked around smiling - "I was just thinking that there is one thing I actually miss that I never thought I would..."

"What?"

"School..." - she said smiling as she laid down on the blankets.

The light was dim, but I could see her smile slowly fade. The thought of school mustn't have been all that she was remembering. I watched her for a moment, she just laid there, not saying anything. But it didn't feel like she was expecting me to say anything either. I saw her close her eyes, so I went over and turned off the lamp. I waited a few minutes and began demorphing. I would come by in the morning, before going to meet Ax and check on her. I was still halfway through morph when I heard it. The small faint sound of restless breathing, of someone quietly crying, trying not to be heard. I didn't need to look, I knew Alyssa was crying. I really didn't know if she wanted me to stay, or if she was just waiting for me to leave her alone. I morphed human again and sat next to her. It was totally dark, but I somehow knew she was looking at me. She laughed a bit, but she didn't stop crying.

"Guess I'm not alone anymore, huh?" - she asked faintly - "Mind staying here a bit, until I fall asleep?" 

"Sure."

I felt her lay her head on my lap and I did exactly what she asked of me. I stayed there, gently stroking her hair until she fell asleep. I gave her a soft kiss and hoped she had peaceful dreams, but none of us seemed to have those anymore. Can't even remember ever having them one day. Can't even imagine having them again...

***

Alyssa

"Bunny." - I said with conviction.

"What?"

"A bunny, rabbit... furry... cute..."

"I know what it is... I just don't see one." - he tossed back.

"And you're the one who's supposed to have the sharp eyesight here."

"I see a deer, not a bunny."

"You don't know anything, that's a bunny I tell you."

I took his hand and lifted it up in the air, pointing in the direction where I saw the cloud shaped like a bunny. (It was a bunny and no one is going to convince me otherwise!) Sure, this was silly, but at least it was half normal. We were just laying on the grass watching the clouds and I was trying to define their shape. Tobias wasn't really doing this just out of lack of a better thing to do, he was trying to cheer me up. I admit I lost it the other night, again. But it's hard holding in the sorrow, the pain. 

I know it's been almost a month since I've been here with the Animorphs, almost two months since my life 'ended' so to speak. It's been almost two months, and yet I still carry the pain inside of me, the fear, the anger... As much as I want it to, it won't go away. And the images, the memories, they haunt me even when I'm awake. And in my sleep, nightmares seem to be all I have. I try to keep these feelings to myself, the others have so much to worry about, they don't need someone to add to their problems. So far, I've managed to keep it bottled up around most of them. But around Tobias, I don't know, it was as if I didn't have to pretend. I could let the mask fall, trouble with that was that the mask had been there for so long I have trouble remembering what was underneath. I was a pretty good pretender when I wanted to, a pretty good liar, but sometimes, that can be a bigger problem than being an open book...

Tobias was trying to explain to me that a bunny would not have such long feet, and whatever, when we heard a voice, thought-speak

Tobias, Alyssa... Prince Jake has called a meeting at Cassie's barn. We should go now. - Ax said, even though he was still pretty far away.

We got up and I started to morph into a red-tailed hawk while Tobias demorphed into a red-tailed hawk. Is it just me this morning, or is that weird? As weird as an alien coming to warn you about a meeting? Don't think so...

When the three of us got to the barn, Rachel, Cassie and Jake were already there. As soon as we started demorphing, Marco came in.

"Why did we have to come here on such a nice morning as this one?" - he asked.

"The Yeerks have been quiet for quite a while now..." - Rachel started

"Is that a good sign or a bad one?" - Marco said under his breath

Rachel gave Marco a 'shut up or I'm gonna hurt you' look and so he did. She still waited for a second to see if he was going to make another joke, then she spoke

"We have a small problem. I was flying by that building up on ________ and _________ and I noticed that they were moving some stuff in. Strange, considering that the place is 'abandoned' and a Yeerk front, and the people going in... half of them I recognized as Controllers"

"I'll try to ignore the fact that you went there without telling us, and all by yourself..." - Jake started to say.

"Thank you daddy..." - Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Do you think they continued building the Kandrona anyway?" - Cassie asked.

"They would never be able to fix it so fast." - Ax said, his pride seemed to be a bit damaged.

"Never say never." - I found myself saying.

There was a small silence, broken by Marco - "So now what?"

"We take a look." - Jake said.

"Then we trash it." - Rachel added tossing her hair back and ignoring Jake's look.

"Fine, we get in, trash the place and get out... What could go wrong?" - Marco asked with as much sarcasm as possible.

They must have installed the bio filters on the entrances by now. We'll have to go in morphed as Yeerks and humans. - Tobias said, we all nodded. 

We knew it wouldn't be easy this time, not that it was the last time...

"Tomorrow night?" - Jake asked.

I don't mind going, not like I have anything better to do - Tobias said laughing.

"I can't go, I have a wedding to attend." - Cassie said.

"I'll go..." - I said with a grin.

We all just turned to Rachel, and she grinned - "Let's do it!"

"Ok, so Ax, Tobias, Alyssa, Marco, Rachel and I will go..."

"Hey, wait right there, Jake. I don't remember volunteering." - Marco protested.

"You didn't object either..." - Jake said smiling.

"That's not fair." - Marco whined, but we all knew he was going anyway.

"Life's not fair." - I said, faking comfort and patting him on the shoulder while trying not to laugh.

"Then that's settled, we go in as Controllers, see if the Kandrona is actually finished..."

"And if it is?"

"... If it is, we morph as fast as we can, and make sure it isn't anymore. Then we get out... alive!" - Jake finished, putting in the last phrase more as a command than anything else.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out together. We helped Cassie at the barn the entire afternoon. Everyone went home, and I went back to the woods, guess that was my new home... My new life was here, with these people, but it wasn't all bad... Sure, I missed some stuff. I missed so many things. I missed seeing my father mad at Sarah and me, I missed seeing my mother smile and calm him down, I missed having Sarah tease me but still help... But I didn't miss all of it, I didn't miss wondering if those kids looking at me were Controllers, if I would come home to find we were caught... I didn't miss waiting up for Sarah when she sneaked out of the house at night, and only came home at dawn... I didn't miss the way she disobeyed our father, the way she wanted to do something about the Yeerks... the way she resented his decision... Those were the things I didn't miss, but I'd gladly ask for them back if the rest came in the same package.

***

__

The next day:

Jake

It was already 1:00am, when I got to the alley where we had set up to meet in. The others were all there of course, except for Cassie, she was probably still at her mother's friend's wedding. We all had agreed she'd stay out of this one.

"Ok, we go in, half as Yeerks, half as humans." - I said.

"If it's ok with you, I don't want to go into anyone's mind." - Rachel said, making a face.

I knew what she was talking about, it was weird, you had to keep yourself from following the Yeerk's instincts and taking control. Just like the animals we morphed, we had to keep in charge, remember who we were. In some cases it was harder than others, we each had the morphs we were more comfortable in, and I'm pretty sure that Yeerk wasn't anybody's favorite...

We must prepare for everything. What if when we enter, we require to morph? - Ax asked.

"We already talked this over yesterday. The first to finish morphing looks out for the rest as they morph." - I explained.

"Let's do it then" - Marco put in, we stared and he shrugged - "What?"

We all just laughed, and Marco started to morph Yeerk. So did Tobias and Ax. See, we had figured that Alyssa, Rachel and I would go as humans, and Ax, Marco and Tobias would go as the Yeerks in our heads. We went with the risk of being recognized, but in the event of a fight breaking out, we would morph and hold the Controllers off so the others could morph. I was worried about Alyssa fighting. From what I gathered, it would be her first real fight. I don't think any of us were very comfortable with that idea, but it would have to happen one time or another. She had already gone into "enemy territory" (let's call it) more than once, so I gathered everything would be fine. Ax, Marco and Tobias finished morphing Yeerks, Rachel went over and looked at the three slugs on the floor.

"Hum, which is which again?" - she asked, laughing and kneeling down on the floor.

Could someone just please put me in their ear already, I'm not enjoying this 'being helpless on the floor where anyone can just step on me' act - Marco joked.

Rachel just grinned and lifted her foot over him, but them she just laughed and picked him up, taking him up to her ear. The Yeerk crawled in and Rachel made a face, then shrugged it off with a smile. I saw Alyssa standing in the corner, looking slightly uncomfortable about all this. I tried to show that this was okay, so I went over and picked up the two slugs, one in each hand, carefully so I wouldn't hurt them.

I'm not having the time of my life here ok, can you just speed it up? - I heard Tobias say while I carried the Yeerks

I walked over to Alyssa and I couldn't help but notice she edged away a bit when I got closer. I knew she wasn't exactly fond of Yeerks, but she had handled it fine the last time. I had gone into her head, sure, she had sortta spaced out for a moment, then she began to focus on every small detail, trying not to think of the fact that I was in her head, more like the fact that there was a Yeerk in her head. I must admit that when she called that Controller back, I almost took control, I had no idea what she was doing. But all in all, she handled it. I came up to her and handed her one of the Yeerks, she took it making a grimace. I raised my hand to my ear and waited for him to walk in

'Ok, who's in there?' - I asked only to the Yeerk.

'It is me Prince Jake.'

'Hey Ax, that means Alyssa has Tobias in her hand.'

I looked at Alyssa and gave her an encouraging glance, she reluctantly raised her hand and allowed the Yeerk, Tobias, to crawl into her ear. Her hand shivered a bit when he started crawling towards her ear, she closed her eyes, biting her lower lip. I was about to ask her if she was doing okay when she opened her eyes and looked me. She didn't try to smile, she just looked away and stood there. I turned to Rachel, she was over at the corner, looking across the street, I came up to her to tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and faced me

"All set?" - I asked her quietly.

She nodded - "No one has gone in ever since we arrived. Maybe this is a good time for us to go."

"Ok, everybody ready?" - I asked, turning around.

I saw Rachel follow my gaze. In a matter of seconds, we were both staring at where Alyssa was kneeled down on the floor, hands to her head. She was mouthing or mumbling something all to herself. I looked at Rachel, her reaction was almost instantaneous, she ran over to Alyssa and held her shoulders, whispering something. I went over to the corner and checked to see if anyone was coming, the coast was clear. I turned back to the others; Alyssa was still on the ground, she pushed Rachel away and shook her head screaming 'You can't!' 

***

Tobias

I had morphed Yeerk. After a while I felt someone pick me up from the floor and carry me around.

I'm not having the time of my life here ok, can you just speed it up? - I complained.

In a few moments, I felt as if the instincts were taking over, I let myself crawl into someone's ear. I didn't really know who it was. I tried to break the Yeerk's desire to just take control of everything. Suddenly I heard Alyssa asking who was there, in her head.

'It's just me'

I answered her, but she didn't say anything else. She was just silent, and still and... and something was wrong, I could tell it was. She started to react as if I were a Yeerk, she was loosing it. Suddenly, I was flooded with pictures, her memories. I didn't want to look, but it was as if I really was the Yeerk. I didn't have control, I couldn't stop from seeing it as she pleaded for it to end. She fell to the ground, her thoughts racing while I watched the whole thing.

__

An Andalite striking at a black panther before everything going dark... 

'Not again, please don't.' - Alyssa said weakly.

__

'What are you asking? Do you really want to see where we disposed of their bodies?' - the Yeerk asked. 

'They're dead?' - Alyssa asked in a whisper.

'Now, when did I say that?' - the Yeerk tossed back.

'Don't play games!' - Alyssa shouted.

'Why not? They only cause your despair.' - he teased.

'What do you want?' - Alyssa asked.

'Alyssa, it's just me. Tobias. Calm down...'

__

A darkened room, someone blocking the door.

"Who's there?" - a younger Alyssa asked.

"It's just me Liss." - the boy said smiling. 

"Back off!" - she snapped.

"Aw c'mon..." - his smile widened.

"She said: back off!" - the older girl stood directly in front of the boy.

"You two are no fun. Now c'mon, hand over the money and we'll be even..." - he took a step towards Alyssa, the other girl's hand struck at his face, her claws open. 

"Never attack a cat when it's cornered." - she said laughing. 

The boy ran away, clutching his face, screaming.

'Alyssa. What's happening? It's me. I'm morphed as the Yeerk...' - I tried to tell her.

__

"Sarah, where are you going?"

The girl didn't answer, she looked mad.

"Sarah... can I go with you?"

"No, stay here. Dad's already mad with me, don't get involved."

"But I wanna help."

"You can't even morph! What can you do to help?" 

"But Sarah..." 

"No buts, just leave it be!" - The girl walked out of the room angry. 

'See, even your sister knew you were worthless' - the Yeerk teased.

'She cared for me... shut up Yeerk!'

'Alyssa, it's me. Get control.'

'Control?'

__

'I control you human! Don't you ever forget that! I can make you do anything I please, you are mine. What about your mother? She's dead and buried... or is she? I can tell you whatever I wish, you are just a sorry example of a sorry race... Go back to the corner of your mind and wallow in your self pity little girl...'

'Alyssa, it's me, Tobias! Stay focused, I'm not controlling you. Don't freak out on me! Please... Stop the flashbacks!'

__

'Let's check it again, see what it's like to watch your own flesh and blood be killed... oh, I hadn't noticed before, your sister begging for your help... but you couldn't help her, now could you? You are so useless, no wonder you are so easy to control...' 

'Stay out of my mind!!'

'Alyssa, try to stay calm.'

'_Let me see their deaths again... what is it you hide from me? I want to know, I WANT TO KNOW!!'_

"You can't!!" - she screamed, finally ending the strings of feelings and images that had surfaced. 

I didn't know what to say, what to do. I had seen so many things that should belong to her and only her. How could I face her the next time, having seen things she had never told us. For the moment, I settled for making sure she was calm again.

Alyssa? - I asked her.

Yeah, I'm ok... oh god... I'm ok, I'm just fine... sorry...

That's ok. Try to calm down.

"Alyssa, talk to us, say something." - Jake was demanding softly.

"I'm fine, just forgot where I was for a moment." - she said, trying to sound as much in control as she could. I gathered they had no idea what had just happened besides assuming that she had lost it.

"Maybe we should call this whole thing off, or maybe you should just stay behind on this one." - Jake suggested.

"We can handle it fine, you don't need to come." - Rachel agreed.

They're right, I can just get out of here and they can do it by themselves, or we can wait for another day. - I suggested kindly.

"No, it's ok. We can go, I won't do that again." - she sounded like she knew what she was saying, but I have to admit I had my doubts.

There was a silence which seemed to indicate I wasn't the only one who thought that way. No matter, we were soon moving towards the building. We walked in like we belonged there. The biofilter was already installed, but there was no problem, after all, we all either were Yeerks, or had Yeerks in our brains. I tried not to think much about what I had seen in Alyssa's mind, of all the feelings those memories had brought up in her. I just focused on what we were there to do. Find the Kandrona and destroy it for good this time.

"And here it is guys, looks like it's in working order..." - Rachel whispered once we were inside.

"How many guards?" - I heard Jake ask.

"I count four humans and two Hork-Bajir Controllers."- Alyssa said as calmly as she could manage.

"Split up, find some corners where it's safe to demorph and morph and do it. Remember, try to divert the attention away from those who haven't morphed yet. Understood?"

"Yes sir." - Rachel and Alyssa said in unison after Jake finished.

We walked to a corner and Alyssa let me out of her ear carefully setting me down. I waited a while until I heard Ax's thought speak telling us all to start morphing, or demorphing. The alarm went off followed by Controllers screaming for a complete search, one or two of them yelling Andalites. I was half-way hawk when I saw a puma jump out of our hiding place. I just hoped Alyssa would be fine after all that happened. I heard a few dracon beam shots and roars. When I finished, I took off and saw the whole room from above. Rachel was in lion morph, chasing some Controllers; keeping them away from where Ax and Marco were doing serious damage. Jake was in tiger morph dodging some dracon shots and fighting off some arriving Hork-Bajir. I searched for Alyssa, she was jumping on a human Controller who had his dracon beam aimed at her. He fired once or twice before going down. 

Alyssa! Are you hurt? - I asked.

I'll live... - she answered hurriedly.

Ax, Hork-Bajir right behind you. - I warned him.

I'll get it. - I heard Marco say just as he was about to knock down another Controller.

Ax was almost finished, the thing was totally beat up, sparks were flying everywhere. I didn't think they could mess it up any further. I checked around, I couldn't see Jake.

We should leave before more Controllers arrive. Where's Prince Jake? - Ax demanded.

I don't know... last I saw him, he was heading down that corridor on the left... - I heard Alyssa state.

Guys, don't mean to point out the obvious, but we are getting way outnumbered! - Marco said hurriedly.

Where are they coming from? - Rachel asked.

Who cares!?! They're here, we have to leave. - Marco tossed at her.

We can't leave without Jake. - I found myself saying while I searched the area and still found no sign of him.

Where is he? - Rachel screamed.

***

Jake

I jumped on the Hork-Bajir, sinking my teeth into him. I didn't even care if he was alive or dead, as long as he was down. More were coming, I couldn't let them get through, I had to stall them here, away from the others. I raced towards them, hearing the dracon beam shots not far behind. Suddenly I felt a pain on my right side, I was hit. I heard myself let out a roar as I faltered and fell. The Hork-Bajir were getting closer, I heard another shot, but I felt nothing. I got up just as the first Hork-Bajir reached me. It struck at my wound, I hollered as the pain was doubled, possibly tripled. I slashed his throat with one jump and he fell. I used him to gain impulse and strike at the second one as the third threw a blow at my left side. The second one fell and I jumped off him, dodging the two remaining Hork-Bajir and passing them. But now, they stood between me and the way I had come from. My whole body was aching, I knew I was bleeding horribly. I took one long breath and prepared myself for the run. That's when everything got confusing, when it all went crazy. 

Maybe I was having a hallucination, maybe the pain was making me see things. All I know is, when I was ready to jump on the first Hork-Bajir standing in my way, he fell. I didn't even reach him, I never touched him, he just fell on his own. The same with the other. I stopped and just stood there, not understanding a thing. I started running back towards where I had left my friends when I heard I noise behind me. I hadn't been paying much attention before, but there was someone there, there had been the entire time. I stopped and looked at her; a little girl, blonde hair all messed up, blue eyes, dracon beam in hand, pointed straight at me. I hesitated, I knew I shouldn't have, but I did. She was only a kid, she couldn't have been more than six years old. I couldn't hurt her, but she was about to shoot me. In that moment I hesitated, she fired. But the shot wasn't directed at me, it was directed at one of the Hork-Bajir who was just getting up. I looked at her, amazed, unsure of what to think. She smiled at me, a cold, hardened smile, and lowered the dracon beam.

"Get out Andalite, this place will blow in five minutes." - she said.

Jake! Where are you? - I heard Marco ask.

I turned to go, but stopped again. I couldn't just leave the girl here, I didn't even know who she was. I turned to her again, but she was gone. I ran to the end of the tunnel after her, but there was no sign of her existence. Maybe I had gone mad, but this was not the time to prove that theory, she had said five minutes. I couldn't tell the others to leave without me, they'd never do it.

Jake, c'mon man! We've gotta get out! - Tobias hurried me.

Right behind you, go! - I shouted as I ran back the way I had come. 

I found them fighting in the hallway, near the exit. Alyssa had a large gash, looked like she had been shot. Marco was dismantling the biofilter while Ax took care of some Hork-Bajir. I heard Tobias warn us about more Controllers on their way. But we were almost out. Rachel pushed aside some Controllers and we all just ran out of there and into the street. I checked to see that everyone had made it out. We ran into the woods, the Controllers started following us, but we were faster. A few minutes later I heard a loud explosion. I stopped dead on my feet and looked back, we couldn't see much, but I knew then that I hadn't been hallucinating. I did see that little girl back at the corridor, and she did warn me about the explosion, but who was she?

Did everybody hear that? - Marco asked

Guys, we're not being followed anymore. We can stop someplace up ahead and demorph - Tobias informed us from the sky.

No one answered me... - Marco pointed out, annoyed.

I wanted to answer him, but I wasn't sure of what I was supposed to say. Suddenly I saw the puma in front of me falter, almost trip, but it kept running. I took my mind off the little girl and concentrated on more immediate problems.

Alyssa, how are you feeling? - I asked her, but the answer wasn't heard in a while.

I think I should demorph... I'm bleeding... a lot. - her voice was weak, distant.

Tobias, Alyssa doesn't look very well, is there anyplace we can stop now? - I said. 

To your left, a small alcove. - he said, flying in the direction.

That'll do it. Listen up everyone, to our left, alcove, now! - I commanded.

As if on cue, a pack of wild animals made a sharp left turn and went into the alcove. Alyssa went to the far corner, as much hidden as she could manage and demorphed. She was looking pale, she let herself drop on the floor, sitting down. Tobias had said the coast was clear so we all began demorphing. I hadn't really noticed, but I wasn't in such a good shape myself, my fur was soaked in blood, fortunately not all of it mine.

"Now will somebody answer my question?" - Marco insisted.

"All right already! I heard it too! We all heard it!" - Rachel let out, almost pushing him.

"See, was that so hard?" - he tossed back.

"Hum... guys, what was that?" - Alyssa asked worried.

I looked at her, wondering if I should say anything at all. I mean, it was kindda crazy. 

That... was an explosion. - Tobias said seriously.

"Must have killed everyone inside." - Marco whispered in awe.

There was a heavy silence. I started thinking about all the Controllers who were in the building. All the Controllers who would now be dead. I felt almost sick thinking that Tom could have been one of them. He could have been in there. I couldn't think like that, I had to believe that he was home and that he was fine. But someone else's brother or sister, mother or father wasn't. They were dead, all of a sudden. I must sound like a hypocrite, worried about the lives of Controllers when not even half an hour ago, I was killing some myself. I think we all must feel that way sometimes. Saying we're helping doesn't change the fact that we still get some of them killed. We avoid it, but sometimes, it's unavoidable. I wonder which is worse, killing them while trying to save them or not trying at all... Not true, I know which is the right one; we have to try, if people die while we do it, I'm sorry, but we can't stop. We have to try. 

"How big was it? Could you see?" - Rachel asked.

I'd say that it would have damaged the foundation of the building, and depending on where the source of the explosion took place; it could have collapsed the underground passage or possibly the main room where the Kandrona was located. - Ax stated. 

"Thanks Ax. Problem is we don't know where the explosion started. And I am not volunteering to go and check out the damage." 

"I don't think we'll have to do that, Marco. I think we can be fairly sure that the main target for the bomb would have been the Kandrona." - I said

"Woah, who said anything about a bomb?" - Marco asked surprised.

'Ooops' I thought to myself. Now it was coming out, one way or another - "When we were separated, I went into a corridor and there were some Hork-Bajir blocking my path. Then someone shot them."

"Hey, this is getting interesting. Someone shooting Controllers." - Rachel whispered.

"Who?" - Alyssa asked.

"A little girl." - I said carefully, knowing they wouldn't believe me.

"You're kidding, right?" - Marco didn't think I was serious.

How old was she? - Tobias asked.

"I don't know, about five or six." - I told them.

"Well, go on, then what?" - Rachel pressed me.

"Then she said something like: get out Andalite, this place is going to blow in five minutes. Then I turned my back and when I looked again, she was gone."

"Does anyone else think that's weird?" - Alyssa whispered.

"Who do you think she was?" - Marco asked.

What was she doing in the Yeerk pool? - Tobias wondered.

"How did she get into the Yeerk pool? I mean, unless she was a Controller..." - Alyssa began to say.

Not likely, why would she help us? - Ax pointed out. 

"Either that or she would have had the same chance of getting in as the dinosaurs would of being alive." - Marco said.

Everyone just stared at him for a moment, trying to adjust to the weird metaphor without laughing.

I think we can all agree that it's pretty strange. - Tobias spoke finally.

"There seems to be a lot of that going on lately." - I said.

"But to just put a bomb in there... to just kill everyone..." - Rachel tried to form the sentence. 

"Hey, less Yeerks." - Marco said not really enthusiastic.

"C'mon, let's go home. We won't figure this out tonight." - I suggested.

"We can fill Cassie in tomorrow morning." - Rachel said.

Don't you mean today? - Tobias joked.

"Yeah, today." - she corrected herself with a grin.

We all started getting ready to leave. Tobias told us that the coast was clear, no one was even looking for us. Apparently the Yeerks had other concerns right now. Everyone started to morph owl so we could fly home. I noticed Alyssa wasn't morphing. 

I walked over and kneeled down next to her - "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Tired. I'll morph in a minute. You guys don't have to wait for me." 

C'mon Cleo. What's wrong? - Marco asked.

"I'm just a bit tired. You guys go ahead, I'll be there in a moment."

"We can wait a while if you want us to." - I told her.

"No, see? I'm morphing..." - she said faintly, while starting to morph.

She closed her eyes and started to concentrate, the changes began slowly. I focused on the owl. The changes didn't take long, as usual. Tobias told us it was ok and a pack of owls flew out of the small cave and parted ways, trying to look inconspicuous... Everything had gone apparently well, and yet, I couldn't seem to get that little girl out of my head. Something else was bothering me beside the fact that there was no easy way to explain who she was and how she had gotten in. It bothered me the most that I had no idea if she had gotten out...

***

Alyssa

It was almost a week after that weird encounter Jake had at that building where the Kandrona was being built. We still couldn't find out who that little girl was or what she was doing there and more importantly, why she helped us. We had filled Cassie in on what happened, for some reason she was really upset by it all. Sure, people died, but at least they weren't controlled anymore... 

I had promised Cassie I'd help her out with the barn and she was gonna let me acquire an owl again... I still had the puma though. I hoped it would last a few more weeks. I like the way that morph felt. It's great. I had spent the entire morning training with Tobias and Ax in the clearing and now we had taken a break. I guess I should say that I wanted to learn how to fight. In my natural form I mean, as a human. Nothing can guarantee I won't just lose a morph, so to speak, in the middle of a battle.

I need something to fall back on, even if only up to a certain point. Actually, I'm trying to learn how to do as much as I can without having to morph. I guess learning how to fight will take a lot of time, but I have it. There's not much for me to do in the middle of the woods with a hawk and an alien. I actually saw this guy fooling around with a knife the other day, so I went up and asked him if he could help me with that. I know, weird, but he said he would teach me so... I doubt he's a Controller, but I'm still being careful. I told Ax where I was going, but I made him promise not to tell the others. 

I'd find a way to do that later. I was going to meet with him before going to Cassie's later on in the afternoon.

It was early in the afternoon and I was sitting by the river with Ax, talking about stuff. Tobias had gone to get something to eat (and it still grosses me out a bit). Ax and I somehow ended up on the topic of pranks; and I was telling him the sort of stuff that Sarah and I used to pull. We had never been good at behaving ourselves, especially her... I was telling him about the time we were getting into trouble at school because of one particular bully... 

"Yeah, and the boy just kicked her stuff across the school floor, stepping on it. She was so mad."

What happened? Did she confront him?

"Well, I called him to a corner after school while Sarah went and morphed a Doberman... you had to have been there... he ran so fast I thought he was gonna run past his own house... it was so funny. And we couldn't stop laughing the entire afternoon. Our parents kept asking us what was so funny and we had to make up some lame story about someone tripping at school."

Did they believe it?

"I think so, otherwise Sarah and I would have heard a major lecture when mom left the house."

Why did he wait for your mother to leave?

"It's like I said, she didn't know about the morphing, so dad couldn't say anything in front of her. And dad worked at home, he didn't have to go into the office. That was the habit he got when he still wasn't trapped. And mom left every morning and came back at night."

What was her job?

"You're gonna laugh... she was a vet."

Convenient.

"Yeah, I used to go and help her out just so I could acquire the animals. Hell, me and Sarah, we'd acquire anything we could get our hands on... We actually stepped out of the house in the middle of the night to try and catch a skunk... I do not recommend anyone trying it." - I said, laughing.

Did you catch it? - he asked, ignoring the hilarious situation.

"No, we didn't. But then we gave up and Sarah sortta found another way to get her hands on some animals... She'd morph bird, fly to the zoo while it was closed, slip into the cages with some tranquilizer she'd steal from mom's office and then acquire whatever she wanted."

You didn't go?

"No, I mean, what if I couldn't morph to get out again... too risky... But that's how she acquired the black panther... it was her favorite morph." - I went kindda silent for a moment, wrapped up in my own thoughts. Thinking of Sarah acquiring whatever she wanted just because she could. She didn't care for the risks, she had even acquired mom once, while she was sleeping. 

So, you're father was an Andalite? - Ax asked just to try and pick up the conversation again.

I basically just nodded, he knew the answer.

What was his name?

"Which one?" - I asked with a little smile.

His Andalite name.

"You'll laugh, but I really don't know... It always seemed sortta complicated and he never made a big fuss about reminding us who he was... It was like he wanted to forget."

Maybe he did.

"Yeah, maybe he did. Anyway, he took on the human name of D.J. Howell. My mom's name was Kirsten."

How did they meet? You said she didn't know he was an alien.

"No, she didn't. Let me sum it up for you. A few friends were camping near a lake; three girls and four boys, the girls had gone shopping; a big thing fell in the lake from the sky; the boys went to see what it was; they found a blue alien almost drowned; they took the blue alien with them back to camp; the blue alien woke up and explained to them about the aliens; the boys decided to keep it a secret; the alien acquired the boys and mixed them up; the girls came back and met the alien; one of the girls fell in love with the alien and the alien fell in love with her..." - I said it waving my hands in the air, trying to speak as fast as I could.

Are your father's friends still alive?

Ok, so the 'questions and answers' session was getting kind of annoying and a bit boring...

"I don't know. I think so... They kept in touch for a while. Haven't seen them in a long time." 

I snapped out of my story telling mode and looked at my watch. 

"Bye Ax, gotta go." - I said as I got up and picked up my jacket.

Are you going to Cassie's?

"Yeah... eventually..."- I said under my breath when I was out of hearing range. I had something I had to do before going over to help Cassie. There was someone I was going to meet with...

***

Jake

I was walking home with Rachel and Marco. Cassie had hurried home to meet up with Alyssa, they were going to acquire some animals and Alyssa was gonna help Cassie out. Marco was teasing Rachel and she was about to make him regret it, when Marco stopped all of a sudden. Which caused me to stop all of a sudden, which caused Rachel to stop all of a sudden, which caused both of us to stare at Marco. He was staring at something or someone.

"Guys, look!" - he pointed to a girl crossing the street. She had her back turned to us, she was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was braided and she was carrying something in her hands, looked like a black shirt, only larger.

"What is it?" - I asked, not truly aware of what he was trying to show us.

"That's Alyssa." - he said, still pointing at the girl on the other side of the street. 

"Are you sure? I thought she was going to help out Cassie today." - Rachel asked.

"I'm sure, that's her. She turned this way for a moment." - Marco insisted.

"You don't think something's wrong, do you?" - I looked around to see if anyone was watching.

"Let's go check it out." - Rachel suggested.

We started speeding up our pace so we could gain on her. She was walking pretty slow, so it wouldn't be hard. We crossed the street and caught up with her near a corner. Marco ran up to the girl and stopped her.

"Excuse me... " - Marco started. 

The girl turned around and we all saw her face, Marco lowered his voice - "Alyssa?"

She turned to look at us. Her face was blank at first, but at the mention of her name, a slight reaction showed; almost unnoticeable. 

"Are you alone?" - I asked her.

She didn't answer, she just seemed to look at each one of us carefully for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" - Rachel asked her, pulling her to a corner away from the street.

Alyssa just stared at us for a moment - "I'm sorry, what?" - she asked in a calm voice. It seemed drawn of emotion, but I could be just imagining things. 

She looked back for a moment, and noticing the streets were empty, turned to us again, a hint of anger in her eyes, but otherwise, nothing.

"Alyssa, what's wrong with you? Are you in trouble?" - Marco asked.

"What are you doing walking around town like this?" - I demanded.

"You were supposed to be at..." - Rachel stopped herself in mid-sentence. 

Alyssa looked at her - "Where was I supposed to be?" - she asked calmly.

"Helping out Cassie... to get settled in her new house." - Rachel finished slowly.

Marco was about to say something, but I discreetly held him back. _Alyssa_ didn't notice, or seemed not to.

"I completely forgot." - she said with a smile much like Alyssa's and yet slightly different - "Hope she's not mad at me for being late. We could go over there right now. If you guys wanna go with me, that is."

"Uh, sure. We were heading over there anyway." - Marco said carefully, not taking his eyes off _Alyssa._

We all just stood there, completely baffled by what was going on. Rachel started to walk, slowly. The girl followed right away. Marco hanged back a while, he grabbed my arm.

"Man, who is she? I don't like this." - he whispered.

I was going to say something when the girl turned back and laughed - "C'mon guys, keep up the pace."

We started walking towards the woods, all the time asking ourselves who this person walking alongside us was. We were getting at the edge of the woods when she suddenly halted. We turned back at her with inquiring looks, but not so much as to raise suspicions. She hesitated for a moment then continued to follow us in silence. We got to the woods and started to wander in, see if she'd follow. She did, all the time paying close attention to our every move. Rachel was walking right beside her

"So, have you spoken to Jeremy ever since that big fight you guys had?" - she asked with a fake smile.

Of course, there was no Jeremy, and Alyssa knew that. But did this girl walking to the woods, supposedly going to Cassie's know it? She didn't even realize we were going the wrong way, moving further away from Cassie's. 

The girl turned to Rachel and shrugged - "No, I'm waiting for him to come talk to me."

We all looked at her, she was Alyssa, and yet she wasn't. She acted like her, spoke like her, smiled like her and even laughed like her. But she wasn't Alyssa, she couldn't possibly be. Rachel halted, we had been walking for about ten minutes into the woods and everything seemed to convince us that this was not Alyssa. We all stopped and sort of surrounded her. She looked at us, not saying anything.

"Okay, game's over. Who are you?" - Rachel demanded, a certain anger showing in her voice.

I was certainly expecting a reaction, a forged laugh, a nervous smile, a hint of fear, maybe anger... but nothing. There was nothing there. The girl's face was blank. She merely turned and started to walk away. As she was passing me, I held her arm. She caught me off guard as she grabbed me and pushed me to the ground. I fell hard, my back hit some small rocks. I saw Rachel and Marco try to grab her. Marco got hold of her from behind, while Rachel tried to secure the arm she was holding the cloth with. I stood up just as she threw Rachel a punch in the stomach. Rachel stepped back, gasping for air, only to have Marco thrown at her. 

They both lost balance and fell back. I jumped on the girl and landed her a solid punch in the face. I know it must have hurt, but she just dropped down and tripped me. I felt as my back hit the fallen branches that were laid on the ground. As Rachel was getting up, the girl just ran off further into the woods, unwrapping what she was carrying in her hands. It seemed like a black cape of some sort and she covered herself with it as she ran. Rachel helped me up and started to run after the girl. I called out to her, but she didn't stop. I helped Marco and we took off after her; Marco was limping. We ran in the same direction we saw the girls go in. We finally found Rachel kneeled down on the ground with her hand to her stomach. She tried to disguise the pain and stood up.

"I didn't see where she went... Man, that was a strong punch." - she held out her hand and a gun was there - "Look at what our friend dropped, I think it was hidden under the cape... who the hell wears a cape nowadays anyway?"

"Who was she?" - I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know... but I sure hope I don't run into her again." - Marco said.

"She looked just like Alyssa... except for the fact that she had no idea who we were, she was Alyssa." - Rachel said, still searching around.

"Maybe she fell down and lost her memory." - Marco suggested, not really believing his own words - "Anybody got close enough to check for bumps?"

"Loses her memory and just goes around hitting people, I don't buy it." - I said almost to myself.

"Maybe she thought we were Controllers." - Marco said, wincing as he tried to stand on his hurt leg.

"That would make sense... I mean, if she had partial amnesia, she'd forget about us and everything that happened recently, but remember the rest. And her 'rest' would include Controllers." - Rachel pointed out while handing me the gun.

"Come on, let's go see if Alyssa ever got to Cassie's." - I said, putting the gun in my jacket pocket.

We had to walk slowly, Marco's leg was still hurt and we thought he shouldn't morph it, just in case the girl was somehow still watching us. We got to Cassie's about half an hour later. Cassie was in the barn, piling up some cages. To my disappointment, she was alone. Both Marco and Rachel turned nervous glances at me and each other. We didn't say anything. Cassie finally noticed we were standing there and smiled. 

"Hey guys, what's with the faces, you'd think you guys were in a fight or something." - she said laughing.

No one said anything.

Cassie was suddenly serious - "What happened?"

I decided to try and get to the point later - "Where's Alyssa?" - I asked.

"She's late... why? Is something wrong with her?" - Cassie asked worried.

"We're not sure..." - Rachel started to say.

She was interrupted exactly by the subject of our conversation.

"Hey guys..." - she started, but stopped herself when we turned to face her - "Ouch, you look like you were beat up."

We all just stared at her open mouthed. Marco went over and poked her shoulder, maybe checking to see if she was real. Hard to tell with Marco. She gave him a strange look and both her and Cassie stared at us without understanding a thing.

"Where were you?" - Rachel asked Alyssa.

She looked at us, still puzzled - "When? Just now? Loosing my wings over there b..."

I interrupted her - "No, before that... Where were you about half an hour ago?"

"Taking a walk... why?'' - she looked at us, her face still showing all her confusion.

"It wasn't her... I hit her. Look at her face." - I told the others. 

They all looked at her, there were indeed no marks on her face; no blood, nothing. Sure, she could just have morphed it away... And then there were the clothes, the girl we met in the streets was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. And Alyssa was standing here right in front of us wearing a white shirt, a jacket and black jeans.

"Jake, what's going on?" - Cassie asked me.

I was going to answer, but Marco spoke first, totally ignoring Cassie's question.

"Did you by any chance forget to tell us you have a twin?" - he asked Alyssa.

She started laughing in his face. She kept laughing until she realized that he was serious - "What is it?" - she asked.

"We were in a fight... with you..." - Rachel said carefully.

"What?!?" - Alyssa let out, almost shouting.

Both she and Cassie stared at us. I'm sure they believed us, they just couldn't believe it. But we did see Alyssa walking around, even if it hadn't been Alyssa. Yet it was, and yet it wasn't. Again, who was she? We had no idea...

***

Christopher

I woke up slowly. My whole body ached from having slept on the floor. And the weather left a lot to be desired. I missed my comfortable bed in my comfortable apartment. I opened my eyes and sat up, looking around the small room. She wasn't there. Gina was usually gone most of the time, she went out, got some money and came back with food and drinks. How she got the money, she wouldn't tell me. Every time I asked, she laughed and said there were things I shouldn't want to hear; so I just stopped asking. She was being awfully nice to me; letting me stay here, hiding me, bringing me food. The other two boys I met that day, Austin and Will, came back once in a while. 

I stood up and stretched, trying to get my body to stop feeling sore. I almost fell back, she was there. I hadn't even noticed it, the room was dark, she was wearing black, no more is needed to say. She was just standing there, in silence, waiting for me to see her, expecting my reaction to analyze it. I decided to try and play along. I smiled and ran my fingers through my hair, yawning.

"Good morning Phoenix... How are you today?"

She didn't answer me. She just handed me pair of sunglasses and a jacket. I gave her an inquiring look. We just stood there, totally silent. Her not willing to speak, me not knowing what to say. I finally heard a soft ruffling noise, but it wasn't Phoenix, it was coming from the entrance, if you can call it that. A few seconds later, Gina walked in smiling, a bag in her hands. She was singing something, but when she saw Phoenix, she stopped on the spot, almost dropping the bag.

"Who the fuck are you?!?" - she demanded.

Again, Phoenix said nothing, she simply started to leave and made a motion for me to follow. I hesitated for a moment. Gina still had no clue of what was happening. Phoenix was passing by her and Gina grabbed her arm forcefully.

"I don't remember hearing an answer... who are you?"

"There is no easy answer for that." - Phoenix said, then I think I saw her turn to me and she added - "Call me Phoenix."

"This is Gina... she's been helping me out." - I said.

Phoenix hadn't tried to break from Gina's grip, and Gina had made no motion of releasing her. I saw her gently drop the package and discreetly lower her hand to where she kept a knife carefully concealed. Phoenix never moved. Then everything happened almost at once. Gina pulled out the knife and lowered Phoenix's hood, putting the knife to her throat. Phoenix threw Gina over to the other side of the room, taking the knife and throwing it, by precision or by chance, exactly next to Gina's head. She stood still, just staring at Phoenix. My gaze turned to where Phoenix stood silently in the corner, her hood was down. She took off her cape and folded it up. She was a girl, couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen, brown hair, light colored eyes, maybe green. She was pretty. She simply stood there, not caring that I had seen her face. That struck me as odd, but I brushed the thought aside. Gina picked up her knife again and put it away, never taking her glance off Phoenix.

"Sure could teach me how to do that... er... Phoenix." - Gina said while standing up. 

"I will, come." - Phoenix said. 

Gina and I stared in awe at her as she turned and walked back into the front room. 

Gina came up to me and whispered - "Is she kidding, what in the world is she talking about? Where do you know her from?"

"It's a long story... but I owe her..."

"I don't trust her..."

"I do... as crazy as it seems, I trust her with my life..."

"Something tells me you might just have to." 

"Then I will."

As crazy as it sounds, I will...

****

To be continued in

Crossing Paths #4 - When the Dead Return 

**__**

I know you thought I was gonna carry on and on now that the fic is finit, but I'm not. I just wanna say: Comments, flames, suggestions? Send 'em all, you know I love e-mail... And for the lazy ones, my e-mail address is [selina_293@yahoo.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:selina_293@yahoo.com



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